A consumer acts almost like a Texture Analyser while they are eating a meal. They are constantly sensing force and breaking points with their hands while they tear food and even more so inside their mouths while they bite, crunch and chew. To ensure they have a satisfying experience, it is important to make sure these forces are all at the optimum level.
The first dish that comes to mind when thinking about Indian food is a meat or vegetable curry, which come in a large number of variations. For example, chicken korma should have tender meat and a thick, creamy sauce.
MORS blade |
The creaminess of the korma sauce can be measured using a Back Extrusion Rig test, forcing a Perspex disc into a pot of sauce, and measuring the forces exerted as the disc moves through the sauce, and while it pools over the probe.
Rice Extrusion Rig |
Growers, processors and food manufacturers can use it to objectively and accurately analyse the resistance to extrusion of rice samples, enabling them to select the cultivars which satisfy both their own textural requirements and the demands of customers and consumers.
Acoustic Envelope Detector |
A product with more extreme crispiness is the poppadum. A well-cooked poppadum is completely brittle, and should show no yielding when under stress – otherwise, it may be perceived as oily. This property can easily be studied by performing a puncture test using a Ball Probe and the Heavy Duty Platform. A good product will show relatively low breaking forces, but absolutely no plasticity.
Finally, to round off an Indian meal, kulfi is a very popular dessert. This traditional Indian ice cream is very refreshing, and slightly less creamy than Italian ice cream. However, it should still be soft enough to allow the passage of a spoon when it is moved from the freezer to the customer’s plate. A penetration test using a simple Cylinder Probe on a sample of kulfi that has just been removed from the freezer will give a full analysis of the hardness at each depth, and is a very quick and easy test.
Contact Stable Micro Systems today for more information on test methods for Indian food.
For more information on how to measure texture, please visit the Texture Analysis Properties section on our website.
The TA.XTplus texture analyser is part of a family of texture analysis instruments and equipment from Stable Micro Systems. An extensive portfolio of specialist attachments is available to measure and analyse the textural properties of a huge range of food products. Our technical experts can also custom design instrument fixtures according to individual specifications.
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